Vietnam to start raising retirement age from 2021

From January 1, 2021, the full retirement age will be 60 years 3 months for male workers and 55 years 4 months for female workers.

The retirement age will then be increased by 3 months each year for men until it reaches 62 years in 2028 while the threshold for women will be extended by 4 months each year until it reaches 60 years in 2035.

Workers can retire early but it must be five years or less earlier than the normal retirement age if they do arduous work in hazardous conditions and have a career of at least 15 years.

Early retirement is also eligible for those working for 15 years or more in regions with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions and those with reduced working capacity of 61% or more.

Workers can retire at a higher age than the normal retirement age when they have an agreement with their employers to continue working.

Vietnam currently has 3.2 million people on retirement pension and social security benefits.

Changes to the retirement age were approved by the National Assembly in March this year as Vietnam has begun to enter the population ageing period and the country is facing growing pressure on its social security fund.